Safety-guard for rotary planers.



J. D. WALLACE.

SAFETY GUARD FOR ROTARY PLANERS.

APPLICATION men MAYI, 1915..

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- J. D. WALLACE.

SAFETY GUARD FOR ROTARY PLANERS.

APPLICATION mm MAY 7.191s.

1,241,588. t Patented 001;. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- (4/: //a c a Iran snares remand ornron.

JOHN'I). WALLACE, or CHICAGO, ILLInoIs.

SAFETY-GUARD non ROTARY PLANERS.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN D. WALLACE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Guards for Rotary Planers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to guards for rotary cutting mechanisms, such as wood planers or circular saws, its general objects being to provide a safety guard which will not interfere with the rapidv and edective use of the machine equipped with it, and which will automatically move intoandout of its safe-guarding position. I

My invention aims to overcome these objections by-providing a safety-attachment for a planer or the like which will be moved out of its guarding position bythe feedingof the stock which-is to be planed and which will not uncover the cutters ahead of the stock: which will continually,

cover sucha lateral portion of the cutters as is not covered by thestock itself: which will permit the planing to be started at any desired point back of the forward end of the-stock without manually manipulating any part of the guard which will prevent a Slipping, of, the stock over the guard: which will provide'simple and cheap means for maintaining one or more guard ele ments close to the cutters and for returning all guard elements automatically to their tion. and from the accompanying drawings,

which latter show my invention as applied;

to a wood planer ofthe type shown in-my co-pending application, filed May 1st, 1914 asSerial No. 835779.

Figure 1 is a fragmentaryvertical section through a guardedcutter-head .and the parts adjacent thereto.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May'7, 1915. Serial No. 26,488-

.Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one-of the guides supporting the rotatable guard elements. 1

. Fig.3 is a perspective view of one of the rotatable guard elements Fig. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary end view of the tongue tip of the guard element of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a planer equipped with my invention.

Fig. dis a fragmentary vertical section through portions of the planer bed'and a rotary guard element, showing two positions in which the stock may engage this guard element to move the same out: ofthe way.

1n the embodiment of the drawings, my invention is shown as appliedto a planer having a rear table portion 1, a forward table portion 2 and a fence or side-guard 3 carried by one of the tables. Rotated by a pulley 4 is a shaft 5 carrying a cutter head 6 supporting knives 7, which knivesfrom one edge, and having its other edge 13.

rounded as shown in Fig. 4:, the outer surface adjacent to the last named edge being equipped with projections (such as the corrugations 14) adapted to be nonslidably engaged by stock superposed on such a surface and moved substantially tangentially of the latter.

, Projecting from one end 11 of each guard element 12 is a lug 15 connected by a tension spring 16 to some rigid part of the planer frame, the tension of which spring normally rotates such element 12 within its supporting guide :into the position shown in Figs l and 5 that is to say, into a position in which the corrugated part of said element covers the adjacent portion of the cutter-head operating through the opening in the top of the table. In this position, therounded edge 13 of the element 12 abuts against thetop of the table portion 1 as shown in Fig. 6 and will be. engaged by stock 17 slid along said table portion, so that: this stock will move the guard out of the way ahead of it, the

35 guardposition (shown in dotted'lines) by a turn this guard element to its normal or guarding position as soon as the stock has been fed past the cutter.

To prevent the exposing of portions of the cutters when the stock isnarrower than the latter, I preferably use a number of relatively narrowelements 12 disposed longitu- "only the right hand element 12 would be moved out of its guard position by stock ofv tially parallel to the axis of the shaft 5) and dinally of the shaft .5 and separated by so narrow a spacing 18 as not to permit the entrance of a finger therebetween. -Thus, Fig. 5 shows a two-section construction in which the width 19, thereby leaving the left hand element12 to guard the inactive end of'the cutter. However, the widths of stock planed at different times vary too much to permit of allowing for them all by suitably proportioned widths of guard elements, hence I. preferably also use an auxiliary guard 20' movabledaterally of the planer (or substan normally hoocling each guard member 12. This auxiliary guard may be pivoted to its spring 21, and preferably has a tapering tip presenting a'cam surface 22 adapted to be slidably-engaged by the stock for moving the auxiliary guard-out of its safety position for a distance corresponding to the width of the stock. I

In operation, the stock first strikes the edge 22 so as to move the auxiliary guard to uncover one or more of the elements 12 comprising the rotatable guard member, and thereafter engages the latter to move it out i of the way. Then, as soon as the stock has been slid past the cutters, thesprings 21 and 16 automatically return the upper and lower guard members respectively to their safety positions,'-no manual attention whatever being required; However, if a considerable number of pieces narrower than the width ofthe cutters are to be planed, the

auxiliary guard 20 may be latched in'a position freely passing such a width .of stock by i dropping a pin 23 through the correspond ing one of a'series of holes 24: in the guard 20 and allowing said pin to engage the left hand edge of the planer table.

While I have shown the upper guard member 20 as pivoted and as adapted'to be latched by pins 23, and the lower guard elements as slidably dovetailed into the guides supporting the latter,'I do not wish to be limited to these or other details of the construction herein disclosed, which construction might be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention. However, I preferably so mount the upper and lower guards as to be independently movable, and preferably dispose the grooves 9 concentric of the shaft 5 so as to maintain the guard elements 12 as close to the cutter as possible. I also preferably cut away the portion of each element 12 opposite the edge 13 so as to provide a free passage for the'shavings or other particles detached from the stockby'the rotating cutters.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine having a rotary cutter projecting through an opening in 'a table,

a guard normally closing said opening and presenting a portion disposed in the path of the stock fed to the cutter, said portion being movable in the general direction in which the stock is fed and being equipped with projections adapted tobe engaged by; the stock when the latter is superimposed" on the guard.

2.-In a machine having a table equipped with an opening and a rotary cutter member operating through said opening, the combination of an upper guard movable laterally of the cutter member and having a cam surface adapted to be engaged by'a lateral edge of the stock for effecting such lateral motion, *anda lower guardmovable 3i 5 circumferentially of the cutter member and having a tip adapted to be engaged' by the end of the stock for effecting's'uch cir'cumfen ential motion, each of said guards normally entirely covering the portion of the cutter member exposed-through the said opening, said guards being independently movable and disposed for simultaneous engagement with the. stock for afiording an exposure of the underside of the stock to. the cutter substantially without exposing the cutter to view, the upper guard having a stock en gaging portion disposed farther rearward ofthe machine than the said opening, thereby permitting the lower guard to move to its safety guard returns'to its normal position.

3. In a machinehavinga table-equipped with'an opening and a rotary cutter mem-' ber operating through said opening, the combination of an upper guard movable laterally of the cutter member and'having a cam surface adapted to'be engaged by a lateral'edge of the stock for effecting such lateralmotion, and a lower guard: movable circumferentially of the cutter member and havmg a tip adapted to 'beengaged' by the" end of the stock for effecting such circum' ferential mot1on,- each of said guards normally entirely covering the portion of the cutter member exposed through the said position before the upper opening, said guards being independently movable, the cam surface upon the upper guard being so disposed that said guard will be laterally moved for a distance corresponding to the width of the stock before the end of the latter engages the tip of the lower guard, the upper guard having a stock engaging portion disposed farther rearward of the machine than the said opening, thereby permitting the lower guard to move to its safety position before the upper guard returns to its normal position.

4. In a machine having a table equipped with an opening and a rotary cutter-member operating through said opening, the combination with supporting means presenting opposed annular grooved formations substantially concentric with the cutter member, of a tubular guard having oppositely directed portions slidably mounted in the said formations and presenting a tongue normally hooding the portion of the cutter member exposed through the said, opening, the said tongue having a tip rounded on its under side and normally engaging the upper surface of the table, the said end of the tongue being adapted to abut against an. end of the stock fed to the cutter member, thereby enabling the stock to rotate said guard within its said mountmgs. c

5. In a machine having a table equipped with an opening and a rotary cutter member operating through said opening, the

nal opening and being cut away intermediate of its ends along the other edge, the said cutting away aflording a passage for particles detached by the cutter member when the latter is in operation.

J OHND. WALLACE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0. 

